Tuesday, September 1
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Mom and Dad waved the moment our video chat connected, then fiddled with their computer until the giant ‘No Sound’ icon faded from my screen.
“Hi, Dot,” Dad said. “Settling in okay?”
“Yeah, I’m doing alright. It’s been nice to have a few days to get back in the big city mindset.” I lay in bed in my PJs, snacking on leftover popcorn Bee had made before she left and trying not to get crumbs even more everywhere than they already were.
“Well, Anika, I hope you’ve got a good plan for the semester. Did you figure out that hold?”
“I did. I’m going for an associate’s degree in superpower studies,” I said. “It’s a new program, and I’ve got a feeling it’s going to line up well with my chosen career. If I work hard, I can be done by the end of the year, and it’s a ton of good training for superhero work.”
Mom’s brow furrowed. I’d been worried about this. She started to say something, but I interrupted her. “I know it’s not what you want, Mom. But I looked into the classes I’d be taking, and they all line up with going into superpower legal work, so if I get tired of being a hero, I can switch with a couple of years’ worth of classes. I get what I want in the short term without losing out on your long-term plans. Best of both worlds.”
I stopped. Mom needed a moment to think, and I couldn’t push her too far all at once—especially when I knew why she didn’t like my superhero work and why she wanted me fighting on the legal side, not on television. Dad put a hand on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. She stiffened, but nodded slowly.
“Well, congratulations on your choice, Dot. Wish we’d known earlier, though,” Dad said. “What do you need help with?”
Right. Help. What did I need help with? I felt pretty much in control, but Rocko clearly wanted to get Heroics 101’s minor league series up and rolling quickly, and I didn’t know what my class schedule looked like yet. Plus, I needed to make sure I spent time with Bee, not just Fursona. “I’m not super-worried about anything yet,” I said.
Dad snorted. “Super. Ha!”
“Shut up,” I said, smiling. “Maybe Mom can help me with something, though. How did you keep your schedule balanced when you were working and taking care of me? I have a lot on my plate, and I need some help.”
“Hmmmm. I’m not sure how much help I can be. I worked at the diner, but the managers and I worked out a deal so I only had to work when your dad had time off. We swapped you between the two of us for years. It worked out well, but I’m not sure that’ll work for classes and a demanding job. How many Episodes a month does Rocko want?”
“One a week. I get to call out if the top-tier major league heroes or villains interrupt one, but other than that, I’m committed.”
Dad cleared his throat. “That doesn’t seem like much, Dot, and if you know they’re—“
“So, that means patrolling for Episodes, right? That could take hours before you find something viable for you, and I bet he wants you going after certain villains, right?” Mom said, all business.
“Right. I’ve got a rogue’s gallery now.”
Mom and Dad shared a long look, and then Mom shrugged. Dad cleared his throat. “Dot, you’re treading new paths for the DuPonts. Neither of us went to college, and your mom was a supervillain for one Episode. We’re not going to be good people to come to for advice. Support? Wholeheartedly. Unconditional love? Yep. But useful advice, not so much.”
An awkward silence descended. I’d known for a while that Mom and Dad weren’t all-knowing, but the whole revelation that they’d known I was a superhero and that they’d been better at hiding Mom’s secret identity than I had been mine had convinced me they’d be able to give me some good advice. I thought back to the Madame Shockwave costume tucked away in my closet. I’d have to do something with it eventually.
As the quiet grew too long, I cleared my throat. “Well, thanks. I love you both, too. Anything new in Riverside?
We chatted for a while, but I hadn’t been gone that long—only a few days—and Riverside…Riverside never changed much. It’d been a quiet summer. The moment I arrived, Professor Panic went underground, and he didn’t start anything until I left. Supposedly, he had a lieutenant now, which was exciting since Collidus still didn’t have a sidekick. The balance of power was shifting in Riverside.
Mom and Dad were busy with work and didn’t pay much attention to the town as a whole. I didn’t have much news to share on the Tokyexico front, though I told them about the battle at the airport the night before. Then, when we’d shared all we could, I cleared my throat. “Freshman Orientation is today, and I’m supposed to be involved, so I’ve gotta go. Love you both.”
“Love you too, Anika.”
“Bye, Dot.”
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After closing my laptop, I should have suited up right away. Instead, I stared at the screen. That hadn’t been as helpful as I’d hoped, but I wasn’t out of people to talk to about scheduling. I just didn’t want to talk to the other people on my list. I knew I’d have to, though. Eventually.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Just not yet.
[Casting Call]
[Episode: The Annual Orientation Episode - PG-13]
[Role: Heroic Helper! Do you accept the role? (Yes/No)]
[Role Focus: Flamboyance+Drama]
The [Casting Call] came, along with several texts.
I transformed, threatening the villains with an exit stage left and everything. Excitement built inside me, and I tried to force it down, but I hadn’t had my powers during my freshman-year Orientation Episode, and I was looking forward to some revenge on the SSS.
I accepted the [Casting Call] and headed for the roof. Truthfully, I wanted to meet up with Milo, Springlock, and Hephaestus, but Fursona and I had discussed our strategy beforehand. The Student Union Building and library had been the focus of the SSS’s campaign last year; while I doubted they’d repeat the same plan without Monologue’s ridiculous power, the building would be crawling with Extras—and with freshman heroes and villains looking to make a name for themselves.
[The Annual Orientation Episode: Act One in Progress]
It wasn’t a long flight over to the Student Union Building, and [Solar Wing] made it even faster, but I could already see the Student Supervillain Society causing trouble on the long, wide sidewalk that ran down TU’s center. I thought about blasting a couple of the villains. The Crumb, fighting a hero I didn’t recognize, would have made a great target. But then the air shimmered, a group of four professors appeared in the middle of the fight, and I pulled up to avoid Doctor Mays’s power.
I landed next to my kangaroo-shaped sidekick. “Any action?”
“Yes. Flare, Tearjerker, and Iron Fist headed inside about a minute ago. I wasn’t ready to get rolled over, so I let them go, but now that you’re here, we can try breaking their plan up. Looks like the whole leadership is there, so if we shut them down, it might end the SSS’s strategy. Then it’s just cleaning them up.”
“Got a plan in mind?”
“Bomber-Roo through the window, then Variant Three Old Yeller on Tearjerker. We ignore Flare except for my [Combo-Breaker], and I keep Iron Fist off you while you take out Tearjerker.”
“Sounds good,” I said. I summoned [Starwave Sail], and we rocketed toward the wide bookstore window. At the last second, I fired a [Starlance] into the glass, and Fursona kicked off, landing on top of a very surprised Flare.
[Badass Bomber! +1 Badass Point]
[Bull in a China Shop! +1 Badass Point]
[Dramatic Damage! +1 Drama Point]
Books flew as Iron Fist rushed through the shelves toward me, steel fists oscillating up and down like jackhammers, but I was already airborne, using [Solar Wing] to fly until I almost touched the ceiling. He jumped higher than I expected, only to take a Fursona [Double-Kick] that knocked him off-course and into a pile of chemistry textbooks, which scattered across the floor.
Extras were screaming all around us, but I only had eyes for one person in the room. Tearjerker whirled toward Fursona, but before she could point or open her mouth, I used [Power-Weaving] and opened up on her with [Bit-Part Barrage]. Variant Three Old Yeller was all about hitting a single target as hard as possible from range, and I’d come up with a combo that’d do the trick.
[Dramatic Damage! +4 Drama Points]
Even as the damage slammed into her, I was already [Quick-Time Changing], which triggered [I-Frame Transform]. The notifications poured in, and I grinned as the combo built up far faster than Tearjerker could react.
[Flashy Fitting-Room! +1 Flamboyance Point]
[Floating Points: 1 Drama]
[Steel Yourself! +1 Grit Point]
[Floating Points: 3 Drama, 1 Flamboyance]
Plus, I was ending on Copy-Cat, not my usual Magical Girl Rainy Day transformation. As my brain and Tails’s merged, I dashed toward the still-stunned Tearjerker. My claws lashed out, and a moment later, a nasty-looking set of scratches started bleeding through the goth supervillain’s fishnet-covered calves. [Cat-Scratch Fever] had made contact.
[Dramatic Damage! +1 Drama Point]
[Power-Weaving! +6 Drama, 3 Flamboyance, and 1 Grit Point]
Behind me, something crashed through a bookshelf, and I had just enough time to watch Flare fly across the room before Iron Fist’s massive frame filled my vision. “I don’t got him!” Fursona yelled.
I was still on top of the badly hurt Tearjerker. Tear tracks smeared her overdone mascara, and she glared at me, but I didn’t have time to mess around. In the moment before Iron Fist slammed into me, I used [Doom Ball].
[Badass Damage! +3 Badass Points]
Tearjerker collapsed onto the bookstore’s floor, surrounded by books on drawing naked people and landscapes. I breathed a sigh of relief; Variant Three Old Yeller had worked.
Then Iron Fist hit me, slamming into me like one of those damn white vans.
[HP 8/11]
I smashed through a shelf filled with art supplies, and I would have kept going if it weren’t for a short, white-armored…kid.
That’s the only descriptor I had. A kid. She wasn’t more than five feet tall—maybe five-one in her armor, and she projected a pair of whirling blue tractor beams from her hands. One wrapped around me, and the other pushed against Iron Fist. “I can’t…hold…him….much longer,” she said through gritted teeth as she set me down.
Sure enough, Iron Fist was making headway against the tractor beams. He’d reach both the tiny heroine and me in a matter of seconds. “Fursona, send a TUSSA text. We’ve got one!” I shouted and used [Leaping Leopards], springing toward Iron Fist.
The villain laughed as I slammed into him, then swatted me aside and grabbed the white-armored tractor-beam heroine. She struggled in his…iron fist… punching and kicking for everything she was worth, but couldn’t break free, and before I could try to break her out, Iron Fist fled the battle of the bookstore with Flare in tow.
[HP 7/11]
I groaned and picked myself up. “I can’t believe they’re running the same plan, but they’re probably heading for—“
Fursona interrupted me just as my phone buzzed with her text. “The ballroom!”